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Tuesday 26 June 2012

If ever...





If ever life
the rest of creation
come to behave as we behave,
might not the trees
give up their leaves
for some trivial,
short term gain?
the flowers decide
it not worth their while
to open on certain days?
the oceans tire
of throwing themselves against 
the solid
(all too-solid?) cliffs 
and decide to  retire
to their deepest trenches?
birds sing louder,
longer, more
jarringly raucous
and harsh
(as our art becomes
in difficult times)?
and only the minibeasts under the earth
go on as they always have?

If ever the rest of creation
behave the way we do,
would that change us,
the way we see ourselves,
our actions and our habits,
our modus operandi?
Could they be changed - and if so,
how - and how
might life 
respond in turn
to that?

16 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

This is so thought-provoking Dave and so mirrors peoples' attitudes to life these days. Brilliant.

Brian Miller said...

def thought provoking man....if nature was as dependable as us i think we might be in quite the pinch...

Daydreamertoo said...

I'm hoping one day when humans are no longer at the top of the food chain, something (even if us us on a higher spiritual level) takes over this planet that has a lot more love and compassion. Yes indeed, if nature behaved as selfishly and callously as humans we'd have died out a long time ago.
Very vivid imagery and, thought provoking post Dave.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave - I think the rest of creation as you say is already changing - not necessarily becoming more aggressive (though maybe the bits that stick around are) but more tired! And by the time we respond, it may be too late to change it back.

Terrible - but makes for great poems! But terrible.

By the way - lately there is highlighting in your posted pieces. I cannot tell if this is intentional. I'm just not sure as sometimes it seems that you want to highlight the particular words, but other times, less clear. I mention because these things creep in at times oddly and wasn't sure. k.

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Dave,

You have probably spent more time composing this great poem, than most humans spend on any day, considering either anyone else, or any of the creatures visible on the earth, or under it.
Mankind has reached a point of selfishness that it is difficult to ever see a spiritual reversal of thoughtfulness.

Eileen

kaykuala said...

You are asking us questions and we provide no answers. If the rest of creation were to change mode and do as we do, the clock-work precision goes haywire, it would be nasty!

Hank

Mary said...

I like how your mind works, Dave. There is much humankind could learn by observing nature; and we definitely would not want nature to learn from observing us!

Jenny Woolf said...

It is sometimes a puzzle why we regard ourselves as somehow a more superior form of nature.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Great powerful question, the answer is really beyond me.

JeannetteLS said...

Powerful, beautiful, and it made me cry.

And think. I could not ask for more out of one poem.

steveroni said...

Dave,
I think I am what (who?) I am.

Like Popeye, "i yam who i yam!" No Universe gonna make me different> Only ME can do that...from inside meself!

So I respond to Creation by "DO WHAT THE HINDU DO!"
You write good.

steveroni said...

Hey, Thanks for dropping by 4th Dimension.
PEACE!

Dave King said...

The Weaver of Grass
Thank you for this. Much appreciated.

Brian
Nicely put. I do agree.

Daydreamertoo
They do say that beetles are the most successful life form, so my money's on them!

manicddaily
Terrible - but makes for great poems! But terrible.
This sums it up brilliantly, I feel.
No, the highlighting is not me. It's something Blogger is foisting on me! I think it is happening where I've edited a script, so I propose to try pasting in a fully edited cript. See where that gets me!!!

Eileen
Well, I have to confess that I did not spend long on the poem, it came rather easily, but I do take your point.

Hank
Clockwork precision? How did you know that I'm working on a poem about Newton's clockwork universe? Around me, though, I see no clockwork precision...

Mary
Too right! I totally agree. Thanks for.

Jenny
We have this idea that we have dominion - God-given or not - I suppose.

Tommaso
Yes, I think it is beyond any of us. Thanks.

Jeanette
Nor I! I'd take that any day! Thanks so much.

Steve
Welcome, really good to have you calling.
I like the style of your response. Thanks for.

Ygraine said...

I think we would quite likely find ourselves no longer the 'rulers' of the planet.
I mean, how would we cope if all these slaves of ours were to free themselves? Our perception of the order of things would be severely compromised. And you know how we humans need order in our lives!
Haha :D

Helen said...

The first few stanzas of your poem sparked a memory ... of a boy in my elementary school class many, many years ago ~ one Lou Bordoni. He actually lit a fire in our small Catholic Church, among other criminal acts, and ended up in a facility for delinquents. Poetry! We never know what kind of chord it will strike.

Dark Angel said...

Interesting question. I think I often beat myself against the shore just like the ocean does though.